Parador Santillana del Mar

... swift action resulted in them being relocated underneath the van, despite the protestations of Lymºs board, which proceeded to lash out and cause him bodily harm about the head. (A: ha ha ha !!) However, all is forgiven and we all lived to surf another day.

A very pretty (cobbled alleyways, olde worlde stylee, cows in a field with not only udders, but also tuneful bells which, when youºve got a dozen, made quite a din a la Mike Oldfield) little town, unlike the campsite which was essentially a sodden piece of grass, for which we were charged Euro 22, for the pleasure of a night's shut-eye.

Leaving San Sebastian behind we drove to Santander to spend the night. With nothing more then the car, no place to stay and no plan. As luck turns out we found a cheap Pension to stay at, and ate in their quaint little restaurant, treated to warm hospitality, good food, and free Grappa and Lemonchelo

... came up, and the controversy over the additional expense to have Calatrava design it, rather than a less famous architect. Clara and Sara made it sound like this was a very common debate that happens any time Calatrava designs anything. Truth be told, I'm all for Calatrava designing that bridge, simply for the fact that he'll probably end up importing a number of female Spanish employees to Calgary to complete the project. I will shed unlimited ...

... structural frame was right about eye level when you were sitting.

Back to the pension, where I had a chat with Julia - she noticed a bit of a tan, and we ended up on the topic of my horrific Chilean sunburn, but I had difficulty describing it in Spanish. Julia asked "Were you peeling like an onion?" Such a perfect description of what happened! Except she should have said "Were you peeling like a deep-fried and burnt onion?"

Santander, Cantabria, Spain and Canary Islands pwong

To sleep past 8 AM ... it's not a luxury I normally have, because my internal alarm clock never seems to let me sleep past then, whether at home or on vacation. And it's a luxury I didn't have today! Off to buy a ticket for the ride to Santander, and to grab breakfast - the first thing to come to mind was any place on Plaza Mayor.

The cafe was overwhelmed, with only one waitress serving what seemed to be way too many customers. Sunny but ...

... the best night's sleep aboard the
Port Aven, we booked a couple of nights in a hotel and set about
discovering the art of the Pincho. Pinchos are a sort of tapas but
this part of Spain have turned them into an art form. Touring bars
and sampling is probably not best from a healthy diet point of view
but we're on holiday and so at this stage don't care (maybe in a few
weeks when I can't get my arms round Virg we'll reconsider this.
Never one to ...

... things go wrong too. I leave my computer in the first place we stay in Cudillero, a fishing village not far from the airport. Fortunately the owner is very trustworthy and holds it for me. But its meant a wasted day for Terry and I driving back to pick it up.

We choose a reasonable day to drive 2 hours to Bilbao. Arriving in the city we get so badly stuck in a traffic jam in the city, that I have time to leap out of the car and visit the ...

Not going to Germany like I have purchased tickets for. I would have had to leave at 12:30, and there is no way I could have put myself through that. Im whiped. Plus there is no place for me to stay, and the girls I would go with have differnt places to go and no plans of anything to do/see. Not to mention the 100 euro train ticket! No thank you! Chilling with my friends tomorrow. We will eat pizza and watch Ditry dancing. Relaxing is nice!

... must try this restaurant in Italy." I mean, Martin had told me the beef in Cantabria was always top quality and always fresh. The steak in this place showed me he wasn't exaggerating. Great food. Oh, one other thing I tried and loved. Drinking wine the Spanish way. Agua con gas y vino. Yes, that would be one half glass full of bubbly mineral water, and the rest of the glass filled with wine. I've never liked wine. I've had some of the best, and hated it every time ...